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New York Rangers News, Rumors and Rumblings, February 13th, 2017

By John Williams

Feb 11, 2017; New York, NY, USA; New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist (30) waves to the fans after defeating the Colorado Avalanche 4-2 at Madison Square Garden. The win was Lundqvist's 400th NHL win. Mandatory Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 11, 2017; New York, NY, USA; New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist (30) waves to the fans after defeating the Colorado Avalanche 4-2 at Madison Square Garden. The win was Lundqvist's 400th NHL win. Mandatory Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports /
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All the latest news, rumors and rumblings surrounding the New York Rangers, all in one place to enjoy with your morning cup of coffee!

  • On Saturday, the New York Rangers defeated the Avalanche 4-2 at the Garden for their 5th straight win and they’re fourth in a row at the Garden.
  • Regardless of how bad the Avs are, they are still an NHL team. After two periods, it looked like they might pull off the classic trap game, but the Rangers rallied in the third and scored 3 goals (almost four) in the period.
  • The best statistic from the game was this one; Henrik Lundqvist became the 12th goalie in NHL history to reach the 400 win mark, the first European born player to do so. Lundqvist acknowledged postgame how cool the accomplishment was, but he also talked about how he has a lot more work to do in his career to get to where he wants to go.
  • This recent hot streak the Rangers have been on has been great, although they have only played two teams currently in playoff position in this stretch. Regardless, it is nice to see the team starting to get hot at the perfect time.
  • Steve Zipay of Newsday wrote about how Alain Vigneault knows that they need to give Antti Raanta some in-game reps. This may happen as soon as tonight when the Rangers take on the Blue Jackets.
New York Rangers
New York Rangers /

New York Rangers

  • Larry Brooks of the New York Post wrote about how Dan Girardi is recovering from a laceration on his ankle that has taken longer than anticipated. Vigneault has mentioned how it has been feeling better and that he doesn’t think it will be that long till he is back.
  • The other guy that the above news directly affects is Adam Clendening, who Sean Hartnett of CBS New York says is making a case for an increased role. I would have to agree. He has been solid in his 20 games for the Rangers and gives them a better chance to win then Girardi does at this point.
  • Justin Tasch of the Daily News wrote about how J.T. Miller’s season turned around after the NHL’s mandated Christmas break. Miller, after starting the year hot, slumped a little bit into the break. He has been dynamite since his demotion to the fourth line on December 27th.
  • Tasch also wrote about how Michael Grabner turned into a top scorer instead of just a fourth line penalty kill specialist the team thought they were getting when they signed him. Grabner has been a revelation for the Rangers and they need to find a way to keep him on the team after this season–a.k.a. not letting Vegas have the chance to take him in the upcoming expansion draft.
  • Joe Fortunato of Blueshirt Banter wrote about how the Rangers might be better off being soft sellers or standing pat at the deadline. I completely agree. Larry Brooks seems to agree with both Joe and I on the subject.
  • The one thing I disagree with Joe about, however, is that the trade should not move Michael Grabner. I don’t care what kind contract he has, but unless he’s bringing them back a top two defenseman, the Rangers would be making a HUGE mistake if they moved him.
  • Speaking of the trade deadline, our very own Tyler Kluepfel wrote about how the Rangers should target defenseman Ryan Ellis of the Nashville Predators.

Next: Chris Kreider is the Rangers' Most Lethal Offensive Weapon

  • Stay tuned to Blue Line Station over the next week for more trade deadline coverage as we are now just over two weeks away!
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